Ah, this is my first time writing an experience for BME so bare with me. Back in July 2000, after much research and debate with friends about genital piercings, I had decided I wanted to get either a PA or a frenum. I then talked to my good friend Tara about having her do it and she agreed to do the frenum.
At A Glance Author camcore Contact camcore@bme.anon Artist Tara Studio In Tara's kitchen Location Barboursville, WV We didn't really set a date at first due to both our schedules changing constantly but we finally agreed to do it August 9th before I had to leave for Birmingham, Al. for Furnace Fest 2000. We *two of my friends, and myself* arrived at Tara's house around 7:30pm and hung out for a while to relax and discuss placement and whatnot.
Then, we got down to business. I admit that I did feel a bit sketchy about getting a piercing *genital no less* in a kitchen, instead of a studio. And now that I know better, I really don't recommend getting pierced anywhere else but in a clean, professional piercing studio and by a competent piercer. But, Tara is the only piercer that I felt comfortable with putting steel through my penis so I felt that the risks I took were worth it. My jewelry was brand new and autoclaved, as were her clamps and needle. The procedure goes as follows...
1. She marked where the entrance and exit holes were to be.
2. The area was swabbed with what I believe was an iodine swab, although I can't quite remember, for cleaning any surface bacteria.
3. She put on the clamps, at first using a rubber band, but because I didn't feel much pain at all, she clamped down to two notches, making sure the hole marks were lined up.
4. She opened up the bag for the needle. Which, truthfully kind of freaked me out because I hate needles, due to having so many shots of lidocaine for previous injuries that I picked up a bit of paranoia. But taking deep breaths helped to calm me down a bit and I braced my self for impact.
5. She told me to take a deep breath and let it out slowly so she could push the needle through. As I was taking my breath, one of my friends said something to me and I was halfway through a reply when Tara popped the needle in and damn, did I scream.
I don't know how much I swore, but it was apparently enough to get everyone laughing at me while I almost passed out. The pain was pretty intense, but only for a few seconds until the endorphines kicked in. And then it turned into a weird euphoria, and I looked down and saw the needle in and it was so great. I loved seeing that. :)
6. Then she put in the jewelry, a 14ga circular barbell. Because the balls were fairly small, getting them on was a bit of a hassle, but there wasn't any pain, so I didn't complain.
That about sums up the piercing itself. I hate to admit that I didn't do a very good job at aftercare and due to the circular barbell putting a lot of stress on the entrance and exit holes, the healing process was quite long. After about a month or so, I changed from the circular barbell to a straight barbell which helped it heal a lot faster and I started doing sea salt soaks and the sped things up a lot and helped get rid of the minor infection I had incurred.
Overall, the whole healing took nearly three months which was a bitch. Now that I know better than to screw around with aftercare, my future piercings should heal a lot smoother. I have since stretched up two sizes to a 10ga 5/8" straight barbell and it is great. I love it to death and I plan on getting two more within the next few weeks providing I still have the money.
The only downfall to this piercing for me, was that I did a horrible job doing aftercare in the beginning and I messed around it too much, and I didn't make the best choice for the initial jewelry. I still have a little bit of lymphing but no infection or anything.
Other than that, I love the placement of it, and there is a little bit of increased stimulation. It's more so an aesthetical piercing for me knowing that I have a piece of metal in my penis. Heh... ;-)
While I was well informed on frenum piercings themselves and the risks that go along with such a piercing *which are very few*, I obviously made some mistakes with aftercare and all so I can't stress enough how important it is to know as much as possible about the piercing itself, the procedures neccessary, any other precautions and risks, aftercare, and your piercer before getting any piercings at all.
In closing, I hope that I have in some way or another, helped someone become more informed in their decisions to get or not get a frenum piercing. I'd recommend it to anyone who will take good care of it, it's a beautiful piece. Thanks for reading. Good luck!